With the stated goal to “strengthen the organization’s operations,” Richard Childress Racing has promoted Andy Petree to executive vice president of the organization.
A veteran of the industry, Petree most recently led RCR as the vice president of competition. He was also instrumental in overseeing the development of the Next Gen Chevrolet, which RCR has won with on seven occasions since its introduction in 2022.
Earlier in his career, Petree worked as a crew chief for RCR, winning 25 Cup races and back-to-back Cup titles with NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt in 1993 and 1994.
Justin Alexander has been made the competition director for RCR, with Eric Kominek serving in a ‘reimagined’ technical director role, per the team. Kominek will also work as the technical director for RCR’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program.
In this newly appointed role, Alexander will supervise all competition-related departments. Previously, he served as director of vehicle performance for RCR and also worked as a crew chief in over 200 Cup races. As a crew chief at the top level of the sport, he won four races with Austin Dillon including the 2017 Coke 600 and the 2018 Daytona 500.
“Andy Petree has been around racing his entire life in various roles and titles, from race car driver to car owner to two-time championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, not to mention his contributions to motorsports through his work as a TV analyst for NASCAR Race Hub on FOX,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “That experience and loyalty to RCR makes him the perfect choice to take on a larger role at RCR that transcends the competition side of our business. At the same time, Justin Alexander and Eric Kominek are both extremely talented engineers who are proven in their ability to lead and are going to be valuable in their respective competition-focused positions.”
Richard Childress Racing fields two full-time teams both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series. Kyle Busch and Dillon will again compete for the them in the Cup Series in 2024, while Austin Hill be joined by newly signed team-mate Jesse Love in the Xfinity Series.